Tapestry
by Ephemeral Muse
Summary: I've been trying to run away from my past for the last decade, but I should've known better; the past and the present are always intertwined, weaving the tapestry of the future. Well, in my case, weaving a spider web seems more accurate. OC-centric, partially pre-canon.


Disclaimer: I don't own HxH!

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**0:00:00. Prologue: Freefall**

_"Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real." -Cormac McCarthy_

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Hot steam seeped out of the bathroom as I stepped out, clad in nothing but plain black lingerie. Without bothering to look up, I continued to towel my hair dry as I called out to the rest of the suite.

"The shower's free for you whenever you want it, Hisok-"

The words died from my mouth as I finally looked up to search for the familiar clown's face. Instead of the Joker's sly expression, however, I caught and held the cool stare of a woman dressed in traditional ninja-esque attire. Her eyes showed a distant and removed expression, and she stood with the poise of a skilled killer.

What caught my attention (or my horror, to be perfectly accurate) however, was not her expression, but who she was. I felt the blood drain from my face as a sheen of sweat started to cling to my skin as I registered the identity of the woman standing before me. That pink hair. That outfit. But most importantly, that distinct taste of nen: like menthol, a cool spicy nen that slightly stung the senses with a cinnamon flavor.

Machi. She hasn't changed at all in the last ten years.

It was only a second, but I was sure my drastic reaction would not pass by unnoticed to her sharp eye. _'I can pass it off as surprise'_ I thought rapidly as I chewed the inside of my mouth. _'After all, shock would be the normal reaction to a stranger being in your room when you come out of the shower, right? It would also be a convenient way to pass off the cold sweat.'_

"Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't know that Hisoka had visitors!" I babbled, looking every bit the embarrassed girl-next-door. I scrambled to cover myself with my towel as I continued to ramble at her. "If you're here to see him though, I have no idea where he is. I'm sure he'll be around in a jiffy, though, so I'll just, uhm, excuse myself while ya wait. Toodles, miss!" I had grabbed a shirt in my haste and barely got both arms into it as I stuttered out my monologue, and was making my way to the door as I bid Machi goodbye. Inwardly, however, I cursed at the damn Joker. Where the fuck was he when you needed him? My eyes narrowed as I considered the possibilities...I knew he had decided to join the Phantom Troupe a while ago, but to sell me out to them? My brain raced to think of the possibilities behind his actions.

I couldn't make it to the door. I hadn't been walking with my nen, after all, and Machi was one of the quicker members of the Spiders. Before I managed to even touch the door, she stood before me, blocking the exit. I scowled, my innocent image dropped. It was clear from her action that she wasn't here for Hisoka as I had partially hoped, but for _me._

"Uhm, can I help you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. My nakedness hardly bothered me, what with my shirt unbuttoned and no pants on. I could hardly worry about things like that when someone who could kill me in her sleep stood before me, after all. '_Course, you could always lose the attitude if you were really concerned about your safety,'_ the reasonable side of me protested. Still, I focused on her next words. I needed to know, after all, just how _much_ she knew.

Her next words made me drop all pretenses and dart for the only exit left: the window.

"So it really is you, Vivi."

Before she even finished her sentence, I started to glance around the room in my panicked fight-or-flight state of mind. I needed to leave, _now_. The question was, how? There was the door, but Machi was guarding it—did I trust myself enough to be able to fight her in direct combat? The truth was, I probably could take her down in a one-on-one considering the fact that I knew her abilities but she didn't know mine...but I had no plans to kill her, and I couldn't have her tattle-telling everything back at home base.

I bit my lip. _Home_...it had been a long time since I considered that place home.

Machi shifted slightly into a fighting stance, and her movement jolted me from my nostalgia. No, the important thing now was escape. The door was out of the question because I couldn't take her down without using my nen ability, which left...

The window was on the other side of the room, and I was sure my speed bested hers when I used nen. I had honed my nen in speed rather than strength after all, but the problem was afterwards; we were on the 200th floor, and that height wasn't a joke. Still, if the alternative was being captured by Machi...

As if she sensed my thoughts, Machi took a step forward, and all my inhibitions disappeared. Before a second thought passed by, I had already raced towards the window. I raised my right hand to wave at the glass, and my aura flew out to shatter it as I continued to run at it without losing any speed. As I jumped, however, I glanced back to see Machi's shocked expression.

It's funny how a second from one perspective could seem like an hour in another's. Despite the fact that I could only see her for less than a second, my thoughts ran wild. Was she shocked because she didn't believe I had the guts to jump? Or because she didn't think I would go through such lengths to avoid her? Was she shocked at my recklessness, or my desperation?

My parting words to her rang out as I fell, and echoed in the room: "Tell 'Lo I said hi."

And then all I could see and hear was darkness.

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A/N: After a three (or four?) year hiatus, I'm finally back...albeit a little rusty in the writing department. This prologue is merely an excerpt of what will be closer to the climax of this story. I'm still debating as to how I want to structure this, as I know I want to juxtapose present and past dialogues; would you guys prefer a chapter in the past, followed by a chapter in the present (and so on), or for flashbacks to be intercut within chapters? Let me know, and please review! :)

note: "'Lo" is Vivi's nickname for Chrollo.


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